Author Archive: dereksmusicblog
AKSAK MABOUL-ONZE DANSES POUR COMBATTRE LA MIGRAINE.
AKSAK MABOUL-ONZE DANSES POUR COMBATTRE LA MIGRAINE. Deep down, everyone has a dream. For most young musicians, it’s to record and release an album. That was Marc Hollander and Vincent Kenis’ dream in the spring of 1977. They had recently formed a new band, Aksak Maboul, and were determined to record and release an album. …
LITTLE BOB STORY-OFF THE RAILS AND LIVE’78.
LITTLE BOB STORY-OFF THE RAILS AND LIVE’78. By 1977, punk was at the peak of its popularity in Britain. For the last year, bands were being formed from John O Groats to Land’s End. Suddenly, it seemed, everyone was a musician. That was all very well. However, there was a problem. Many of these bands …
CHVRCHES-EVERY OPEN EYE.
CHVRCHES-EVERY OPEN EYE. It was 10.30pm, when there was a knock at the door. The old couple from up the stairs stood there almost embarrassedly. “Could you possibly turn it a wee bit. We’re trying to sleep?” This actually happened to Chvrches during the recording of their new album Every Open Eye which was recently …
LED ZEPPELIN-CODA-VINYL EDITION.
LED ZEPPELIN-CODA-VINYL EDITION. Led Zeppelin enjoyed ten years at the top. During their ten years at the top, Led Zeppelin released eight albums. They released their debut album Led Zeppelin in January 1969. Just over ten years later, Led Zeppelin released In Through The Out Door in August 1979. These eight albums sold over 100 …
STEIN URHEIM AND MARI KVIEN BRUNVOLL-FOR INDIVIDUALS FACING THE TEROR OF COSMIC LONELINESS.
STEIN URHEIM AND MARI KVIEN BRUNVOLL-FOR INDIVIDUALS FACING THE TEROR OF COSMIC LONELINESS. Forty years ago, it wasn’t unusual for an album to be recorded in four days. The only way to record an album, was in a recording studio. This cost money. So, the only bands able to record an album, were those signed …
JOHNNY HAMMOND-GEARS.
JOHNNY HAMMOND-GEARS. Johnny “Hammond” Smith’s recording career began in 1958. A year later he released his debut album Have You Heard. This was the first of two albums Johnny “Hammond” Smith released during 1959. Over the next sixteen years, Johnny “Hammond” Smith released another thirty album. His thirty-second album was Gears, which was recently rereleased …
KEITH ROWE/JOHN TILBURY-ENOUGH STILL NOT TO KNOW.
KEITH ROWE/JOHN TILBURY-ENOUGH STILL NOT TO KNOW. There aren’t many collaborations that have lasted five decades. However, Keith Rowe and John Tilbury’s has. They first began working together in the mid-sixties, when they were members of AMM and then The Scratch Orchestra. Since then, Keith Rowe and John Tilbury have formed an uncanny musical bond. …
ELEPHANT9 WITH REINE FISKE-SILVER MOUNTAIN.
ELEPHANT9 WITH REINE FISKE-SILVER MOUNTAIN. For their fourth album, Silver Mountain, Elephant9 have once again joined forces with Swedish guitarist Reine Fiske. This tantalising pan-Scandinavian collaboration has resulted in a genre-melting album of rock ’n’ jazz, prog rock and psychedelia, Silver Mountain. It will be released on Rune Grammofon on 16th October 2015, and is …
VAN MORRISON-MOONDANCE-VINYL EDITION.
VAN MORRISON-MOONDANCE-VINYL EDITION.. When Van Morrison released his third album, Moondance, in February 1970, little did he know he’d just released not only a classic album, but an album he’d never surpass. This wasn’t unexpected. After all, two years earlier in February 1968, Van Morrison has released Astral Weeks, an album which was a game-changer. …
RHYTHM ‘N’ BLUESIN’ BY THE BAYOU-VOCAL GROUPS.
RHYTHM ‘N’ BLUESIN’ BY THE BAYOU-VOCAL GROUPS. When compilers are looking for inspiration for a new compilation series, there’s a tendency to focus on a city or region. That’s all very well. However, far too often, compilers focus on the same cities. Detroit, Memphis and Philly are favourites. So are Chicago, Los Angeles and New …
THE BIRTH OF SURF VOLUME 3.
THE BIRTH OF SURF VOLUME 3. In 1963, Dick Dale and His Del-Tones released their sophomore album King Of The Surf guitar. By then, Dick Dale was rightly seen as the King Of The Surf Guitar. He had pioneered the surf guitar sound a few years earlier. Inspired by Link Wray, The Ventures and Duane …
AMERICA-THE WARNER BROS. YEARS 1971-1977.
AMERICA-THE WARNER BROS. YEARS 1971-1977. Somewhat confusingly, the America story began in London in 1971. That’s when high school students Dewey Bunnell, Dan Peek, and Gerry Beckley first met. Their fathers were all members of the US Air Force, and at that time, were stationed in London. Far from home, and strangers in a foreign …
MILES DAVIS AT NEWPORT 1955-1975-THE BOOTLEG SERIES VOLUME 4.
MILES DAVIS AT NEWPORT 1955-1975-THE BOOTLEG SERIES VOLUME 4. It was in 1954, that Elaine Lorillard and her husband Louis founded the Newport Jazz Festival. Elaine’s love affair with jazz began in 1943. She was twenty-nine, single and was living in New York when she first heard jazz music. This was very different to her …
STOMU YAMASHTA-GO TOO.
STOMU YAMASHTA-GO TOO. By the late sixties, jazz was at a crossroads. It was no longer as popular as it had once been. Its popularly had plummeted. Comparisons were being drawn with blues music. Although there had been a brief resurgence in the blues popularity earlier in the sixties, many of its biggest names were …
CAPTAIN BEEFHEART-LICK MY DECALS OFF, BABY, THE SPOTLIGHT KID AND CLEAR SPOT.
CAPTAIN BEEFHEART-LICK MY DECALS OFF, BABY, THE SPOTLIGHT KID AND CLEAR SPOT. It was in 1964 that Don Van Vliet first dawned his Captain Beefheart persona. By then, Don was already twenty-three and had led an eventful life. He’d been called a child prodigy, attended art school, sold vacuum cleaners and for the last two …
FLORIAN FRICKE/POPOL VUH-KAILASH.
FLORIAN FRICKE/POPOL VUH-KAILASH. In music, the most overused word is legend. It’s a word thrown around like confetti at a Las Vegas wedding. Nowadays, every two-bit hip hopper, EDM star or Nu Soul singer is being referred to as a legend. That’s far removed from the truth. However, it’s nothing new. The overuse of the …
BOZ SCAGGS-A FOOL TO CARE.
BOZ SCAGGS-A FOOL TO CARE. 2015 has been the year of the comeback. Some of the biggest names of yesteryear have returned after a lengthy absence. The year started well with critically acclaimed comeback album from Bob Dylan. Then recently, Dave Gilmour, released his first solo album since Pink Floyd called it a day. However, …
dereksmusicblog
dereksmusicblog 